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Gold rises on central bank moves

Gold is poised for a weekly advance after investors boosted holdings to an all-time high and central banks added to reserves as Europe’s debt crisis persisted. Palladium headed for the best week in more than two months.

Spot gold traded at $US1,729.82 an ounce at 9:51 a.m. in Singapore compared to $US1,729.55 yesterday. The metal, poised for a 12th annual gain, is 0.9 per cent higher this week. Holdings in bullion-backed exchange-traded products rose to 2,605.318 metric tons on Nov. 21, according to data compiled by Bloomberg.

Kazakhstan, Turkey and Russia boosted reserves in October, according to data on the International Monetary Fund’s website this week, joining Brazil, which raised holdings to the highest in more than 11 years. European Union leaders are unlikely to reach a budget deal at the end of a summit this week, German Chancellor Angela Merkel said early today in Brussels.

“The uncertainty in Europe is coming to fore again and that should be good for gold,” said Dong Zhuying, an investment consultant at Haitong Futures Co., a unit of China’s second- largest brokerage by market value. “Buying appears to be strong at the institutional, government and investor levels.”

Gold for December delivery was at $US1,729.60 an ounce on the Comex in New York, from $US1,728.20 on Nov. 21. There was no settlement yesterday because of the Thanksgiving holiday. The euro slid 0.1 per cent against the dollar as Merkel ruled out a budget accord until the new year.

The U.S. Mint sold 67,000 ounces of gold coins so far in November, exceeding the 59,000 ounces for all of October, according to data on the Mint’s website. At that pace, sales for the month would be 100,500 ounces, up 145 per cent from a year earlier. Billionaire investors George Soros and Louis Moore Bacon raised stakes in the biggestgold ETP in the third quarter.

Palladium fell 0.3 per cent to $US653.75 an ounce, paring this week’s gain to 4.2 per cent, the best run since the five days to Sept. 14. Spot silver was unchanged at $US33.345 an ounce, 3.1 per cent higher this week and near the highest level in more than a month. Cash platinum gained 0.3 per cent to $US1,581.60 an ounce, set for a third weekly climb, the best such run since February.